3.5 Stars

The Song of the Huntress takes place in what is now Southern England during the Late Antiquity/Early Middle Ages. It follows the story of King Ine and Queen Æthelburg, intertwining historical and mythological elements throughout.

Overall, I enjoyed this book. The characters are well-written, giving a fresh feminist perspective to this male-voice-dominated era. There were plenty of bada** female characters and you were never left wanting in that area. Even the characters who are connected to the bad guy are given full personalities with hopes, dreams, flaws, and strengths. I loved the strong LGBTQA+ rep - we have a sapphic romance and asexual rep, which is as excellent as it is rare. The magic system was also interesting and was described beautifully.

I do think this book would benefit from a pronunciation guide. The Welsh and Old English names and words felt clunky and, as a reader, took me out of the story. There were also many scenes where character actions weren’t mentioned, leading to confusion and forcing me to reread sections just to guess at what the characters were doing. It felt like action sentences or phrases were removed in editing when they shouldn’t have been taken out.

Tropes:
Early Middle Ages England
Closed Door Romance/Fade-To-Black Scenes
Multi-POV
Miscommunication (but done in a way that creates immense empathy for the characters, as well as the usual frustration)
Lots of Politics
Religious Bigotry
The Weight of Other’s Expectations
Finding One’s Own Path

Thank you Netgally and Orbit US for the advanced copy in exchange for an honest review!

I really, really liked this novel. I'm not into early British Isles lit, but the story was so good and so well constructed. I actually cried, and I haven't done that in years. Her characters are well crafted and believable, her storyline flows and I really enjoyed this read. If you like fantasy or history or both, the beginning world building will be easier for you; if you don't, breathe through it and get to the story. You will not be sad!! Thank you to Netgalley and Redhook/Orbit for trusting me with such a lovely story.

When I first read the book's summary, I was at first intrigued. I've always been a fan of historical fiction (and the further back in history a book is based, the better), and this book looked like it could be of interest to me. But as I started reading this book, I found that I just wasn't into the story line of this particular book. Something about this book, though I can't quite put my finger on it, just didn't feel like it was for me. So, unfortunately, I think this will have to be another book I'll have to leave unfinished. But, if you happen to be a fan of historical fiction set in the British Isles, I would definitely suggest giving this book a try.

3.75. Lucy Holland is a talented author, that's for sure. Whilst the thematic work wasn't super interesting to me personally, I liked her writing.

I received this book for free for an honest review from netgalley

Very interesting and a live or die mystery. The whole plot wrapped up very well.

Thank you to NetGalley and Redhook Books for giving me an eARC copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review!

4.5 stars, rounded up to five. I really enjoyed this novel. It was clearly very deeply researched and very carefully plotted. The main characters all felt like the real people that many of them were based on— with complex relationships and emotions. Even the characters from myth seemed to come alive on the page, their words and deeds so like something a living and breathing person would do it seems incorrect to assume these people weren’t and aren’t real.

The characters as a whole were well-written, and also diverse. There was explicit lesbian, nonbinary, and asexual representation within the pages of the book— and though the characters in these times wouldn’t have known these terms, the author makes their identities clear to the readers, which is appreciated.

Really my only qualms with the story were that 1) it felt like the end came on too quickly. There was so much build up for it all to end to quickly. And 2) I wish some of the magic had been a bit more concrete at times. The nature of much of the magic in this book is that it is hard to understand— but there were points that I felt, as a reader that it was just *too* hard to understand. It hard crossed the boundary of being esoteric and mystical into the realm of being confusing. I will, however, freely say that I am not the most well versed in the lore and history behind this time period, so it’s possible there’s something vital I’m missing that would make the magic (and perhaps the ending of the book) make more sense.

Overall, I loved the novel. I thought it was beautifully written and that the characters were achingly real and wonderful. I cannot wait to pick up “Sistersong,” because this novel just left me craving more of Holland’s writing.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for providing me with an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

This was really interesting work of Historical Fantasy, a subgenre I rarely come across. Admittedly, I am not very familiar with British folklore or early medieval British history, but I found both the setting and the mythical aspects fascinating. I learned a fair bit and also googled the things mentioned in the book. The descriptive prose and the other worldly beings added a haunting atmosphere to the book as well. The world building in this book can be rather dense however, and while I did not mind it, I think including a glossary could have been helpful for readers, especially those less familiar with dense fantasy epics.

The book follows three perspectives, the historical rulers of Wessex Ine and Æthelberg as well they legendary lord of the Wild Hunt, Herla. All of the main characters were rather interesting and nuanced. I especially enjoyed Herla's perspective, though I think I would have liked more time with her battle sisters. The relationships that develop progression between the characters are also interesting. All of the main character struggle with the roles placed upon them and the book brings up themes of power, gender roles, love, religion, the necessity of both violence and tolerance and duty. It takes a fairly critical eye towards Christianity, but not without nuance. The primary antagonist, Gwyn ap Nudd was also really fascinating and seemed more than just an otherworldly terror. This book also has a lot of well done queer rep including lesbian, bi and ace(you don't often see ace men in fiction) main characters.

The plot was mostly pretty straightforward, but managed to contain a few surprises still. It does start of a little slow, I assume to include the event Æthelberg is most known for, but does pick up pace as it goes along. However, the writing sometimes lacked clarity despite it's descriptive nature, as the passage of time is a bit confusing throughout the book.

Overall, The Song of the Huntress is a historical fantasy books with really well researched world building and folklore integrated into the heart of the story. The folklore and the other worldly beings are possibly the strongest aspects of the story, but the book also has some well done character journeys. If you enjoy learning about lesser known mythology, I'd highly recommend picking this up.

Thank you to NetGalley and Redhook Books for this opprobrium to read rate and review this arc which will be available 3/19/24!

This is a Celtic folklore, mythology inspired feminist book about Herla and the Wild Hunt. I enjoyed it despite at times being rather bored. The prose is well written. Action is on point but to be honest I wasn’t as engaged with this book as I wish I would be.

Historical fiction has a way of opening a portal through time and allowing the reader to view the past through a telescope with a colorful filter. In interweaving myth into Song of the Huntress, Lucy Holland turns the telescope into a kaleidoscope. The story told in third person alternates between the perspectives of three main characters. As we alternate chapters and perspectives, so turns the kaleidoscope, pieces fall into places and others fall away to form the narrative. The filtered view of medieval Britain with politicking and warring of kingdoms paints the background; but the interplay of the main characters, king Ine, the warrior queen Æthelburg, and Herla, the leader of the Wild Hunt, cut a vibrant story of love, jealousy, friendship, and magic into this backdrop. This story is excellent for anyone looking for a feminist spin on Anglo-Saxon historic lore.
I received advanced digital access to this book thru NetGalley (for which I want to thank NetGalley and the publisher, Redhook Books) for an honest review. The opinion expressed here is my own.

This book was a difficult read for me, for a few reasons. Firstly, I found that the names without a pronunciation guide or any type of reference on how to pronounce them made the reading process choppy quite frequently. Additionally, I had trouble feeling the time period of the story (early Britain). The story felt like an odd inbetween of being too modern for the time period yet too antiquated for modern writing. And lastly, the magic system in the story simply confused me. I couldn’t quite grasp exactly what the magic was and how it affected reality. I haven’t read the author’s other story, however, so I don’t know if reading that first would help with that understanding.

In contrast, there were also a few things that I really enjoyed, allowing me to finish the story and up my initial rating. Though I sometimes got lost in the plot and with which side characters were interacting with which other side characters, I really grew to love the three main characters. I felt like their intersecting relationships and struggles were genuine and I felt empathy for each of their situations. I found myself rooting for all three of them to have a happy ending. The other aspect of the story that I really liked was the writing style. Although it did give the book itself a more modern feel, I thought the prose was beautiful and immersive.

All in all, I am glad that I read this book. I don’t think it will be a re-read, but I am considering reading the author’s other story in the future.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this digital ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Song of the huntress was a really complex and entertaining read. It was a bit hard to follow and definitely slow to start, not to mention the very slow burn. I’m going to have to revisit this book and I know I’ll enjoy it a lot more once I have a better handle on the characters.

This story was full of plot and really interesting characters. If you enjoyed Sistersong then you should definitely check The Song of the Huntress.

I was very excited going into this book because I find that century and the book's premise to be intriguing. I just couldn't get past the first few chapters as I couldn't grasp the story properly. From what I have read so far, Aethelburg's first chapter was the high point. She quickly became someone to root for and at many points in later chapters I found myself wishing they were as good as the first.

It might be worth giving this a shot another time.

This book is dense with lore. While I love the richly built world this is not gonna work for everyone. The characters are well thought out and the slow burn is well worth its payout. While I personally am not a fan of a slow burn the people that are will dig it.

One thing I would add to this book is way to pronounce a lot of these names. I’m aware that this not the final version of this book.

Song of the Huntress is a dense fantasy read with a sloooooowburn sapphic romance, mysterious pagan shadow-demons, and plenty of political intrigue.

The women in this book take center stage; they’re ferocious and battle-scarred, uninterested in gender politics of the Saxon/Briton era. Main male characters are either sneaky and well-versed in subterfuge, or weak and unlikable (looking at you, Ine).

If you are looking for a quick, light read, this book is not for you. (Especially if you are not already knowledgeable about early European political landscapes across the Britons, Saxons and Dumonia regions. I personally, I had to sketch out who belonged where and who hated who before I could even try to get into this book. The author does give us a short background blurb at the beginning and an outline of characters before the first chapter, but as someone who has never had exposure to a book in this time period, I definitely still struggled.

The beginning of this story drew me in right away, but after the first two chapters, you don’t get any more meaningful action until the second third of the book. Which made it extra difficult for me to care about any of the (many!!!) characters or what was going on.

I am putting this down for now after reading the first half, because I’m just not enjoying it as much as I would like to. I may revisit in the future.

However, if court politics, catholic-pagan conflict, and slow slow slow burn sapphic plot lines are your thing, you’ll die for this guy.

Thank you Netgalley for the opportunity to get a sneak peak on this!

This was a heavy one to read, i felt very lost and it was hard to follow, maybe because it was my first experience reading any type of britain folklore and had no knowledge prior to reading it
it almost felt like i was reading a book in a series i though i had read and i couldn’t remember what had happened in the books before. Found myself making too many notes to remember characters and their actions, it wasn’t badly written i just think readers should take into consideration it isn’t an easy light read and have to focus to understand the story, i think there was too much building up for the climax but it did pay off, the last 20% of the book was the most interesting part of it bc at that point i could finally understand and identify all the characters, i think the most enjoyable plot point was Herla and æthel’s love story
Maybe this genre is not for me but i can still appreciate this author’s writing style
2 and a half stars for me

I saw this book was recommended for people who enjoyed Circe and it definitely did not disappoint! I loved the world building, multiple points of view (3!!), and character development. I was a bit intimidated by the character names, pronunciation, and the language, but I luckily did not have an issue. I read quite a bit of fantasy, and this book was very refreshing in terms of storyline and character. I loved the folklore and vibes of the book and would definitely recommend it to someone who loves unique fantasies!

I enjoyed the premise of this book but found the execution a bit clunky. I enjoyed Sistersong but the Song of the Huntress was so slow getting off the ground and I couldn't differentiate between many of the characters. The plot itself isn't bad but it was a slog trying to get through it. It could've been cut down significantly.

This book was so good. The construction of the characters, the world, the politics, the intertwining storylines, and the magic system were meticulously done and remarkably intricate.

I was in awe of how distinct and realistic all of the characters were. Every character had their strengths and their flaws. I deeply appreciated how human they all felt; reading about how they butted heads, believed in each other, overcame the disdain brought about by their differences, loved each other, and betrayed each other was so compelling that I may as well have been experiencing it all alongside them. Even the inhuman characters were given a surprising amount of depth. There wasn’t any character that I felt was simply inherently evil, and I really liked how there was obviously depth to the side characters that went beyond what the plot as revealed by the storytelling characters showed. I also felt that the story was perfectly told by following the three chosen characters. Most of the time, books with more than one narrator leave me with a favorite point of view and/or a least favorite, but in this story I was genuinely excited every time the chapter changed. I loved all three of the storytelling characters and I found each of their tales as interesting as the others.

Every element of the story was so obviously crafted with extreme care, because the plot was a very intricate web of different stories and battles that never once tangled or got lost. A lot of stories struggle with striking a balance between “showing, not telling” and offering satisfying explanations for everything, but this book completely nailed that. There were so many instances where I had a “aha” moment based on something that the reader only observes briefly via the storytelling character’s perspective, which allowed a very complicated story to be told in a manner that was easy to follow and not at all overwhelming. I loved the lgbt+ representation in this book and how strong all of the relationships in it felt. The ending made me a bit sad but was definitely well done.

Anyone who has enjoyed The Roots of Chaos books by Samantha Shannon should absolutely pick this story up, because the careful and meticulous writing style felt very reminiscent of S. Shannon’s books to me. I will be thinking about how incredibly well done this book is for days to come. 4.5 stars rounded up to 5.

Thank you to Redhook & NetGalley for providing an advance copy of this ebook in exchange for an honest review.

I received this as an ARC from Netgalley I’m exchange for an honest review.

First off, my last ARC was so trash I was kind of scared to do another, but I’m so glad I did. This book has everything I like except a good dose of smut 😂

The plot was well rounded and interesting and kept my interest all the way until the end. There was just enough magic to make the story seem believable and realistic, just enough conflict to keep the story going, and the perfect amount of romance and drama to keep it interesting. I love medieval history and, seeing that this book is set on medieval Britain, it was a perfect match. I appreciated how the author kept the story fairly historical and took her own interpretation of it. It made for a very believable plot, which is hard to do with magic. I enjoyed that the human element magic was really just a gift from the land, and I really loved the critical eye on Christianity in this book. The fae were made out to be evil and cruel, which is pretty typical of a book where mortals and fae co-exist.

The characters were fleshed out and interesting and multifaceted. No character was straight up evil, but some obviously had questionable morals. The author did a great job of giving the villains a backstory that made you kind of understand how they came to be the way there are. I loved Ine’s character development, considering he kind of is a tool to start, albeit a fair tool. By the end, I love who he becomes. Æthel is a bad bitch from the get go but also very unwilling to see things from another point of view. She has a tenderness we see throughout the whole book, which is refreshing from a warrior character. Herla is fascinating and wild and terrifying and loyal, which is perfect for her role in this book. All the supporting characters have personality and are well thought out too, which is impressive as there are a lot of them. Even minor characters leave memorable impressions.

The writing was a bit challenging at first as the author chose to use words from the time period, but it was still easy enough to enjoy. The style was romantic and not difficult to read as some books can be set in this time period. There are a few words I had to look up, but again, a lot of that has to do with with staying true to the time period. It is a bit more advanced than a teen level book in writing, but the plot doesn’t offer anything I would deem too graphic or much for a teen.

I also highly enjoyed the inclusion of an asexual character! This is the very first book I’ve come across where we have a main character who is ace. This book has good representation of the lgbt+ community, which surprised me considering the time period and heavy religion influence. Obviously, lgbt+ has been around forever, but it was still deemed taboo by the Christian church, so it was nice to see it included.

This book is well suited to anyone who enjoys a good fantasy book with elements of war, magic, fae, character development, and love. I thoroughly enjoyed it and thank the publisher for the opportunity to read it as an ARC.

Last year I read Lucy Holland's Sistersong and I loved it! I was so excited to be able to read this one. She writes so beautifully and is able to completely immerse me in the world she's seemingly building around me locking me in and keeping me enthralled from start to finish. I love the folklore and medieval type setting. Her characters are so real they just jump off the page, the plot is engaging and the pacing is perfect. I know I've only read two books by her but I think this author is going to be an auto buy for me in the future.